


Genuine Eyes

by Opuscule_Owl



Category: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Video Game)
Genre: Mild Hurt/Comfort, Other, after courtyard scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26665066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Opuscule_Owl/pseuds/Opuscule_Owl
Summary: Feeling confused after the events of the courtyard, MC seeks peace in solitude, but it’s quickly interrupted with tears and confessions
Relationships: Ben Copper/Player Character (Hogwarts Mystery)
Kudos: 11





	Genuine Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by a Tumblr anon

You took a deep breath of the crisp autumn air. All day it had been uncharacteristically sunny and you had spent a good portion of it outside, hoping the sunlight would warm the cold feeling that had been present in your chest for the past week. But, unfortunately, while the sun’s rays had warmed your skin, there was still a chill present deep within you that had yet to go away. Rowan had been doing absolutely everything in their power to make you feel better, but you simply could not get that night out of your head. You desperately wanted to talk about it, but even thinking about it caused your heart to stop. This internal conflict had made it a rough week, but you had finally gotten to the weekend. All your friends went to Hogsmeade, but you elected to stay behind, wanting to have some time to yourself while the grounds were relatively quiet. They all looked sympathetic but eventually went without you, promising to bring you back some sweets from Honeydukes. You had hoped the three hours you had sat here would have brought you some peace of mind, but you still felt shaken. Images kept flashing through your restless mind, of the dark, stone courtyard, the red-cloaked figure, of Ben lying on the ground, blinking in confusion.

The last image ripped your insides apart and seemed to be the one that appeared the most. Everyone around you seemed absolutely convinced that Ben had betrayed you, had betrayed everyone. He was working for R, or was R, full stop. And, of course, you were tempted to believe it as well. All the strange things Ben has said and done, his cartoonish cowardice, it all added up. But something deep within you refused to be swayed. Something in your heart told you that was wrong. And for the past week, you had been aching to see Ben. You missed his big brown eyes and his genuine smile. But above all else, you wanted to see if he was okay. Seeing him in the red cloak hurt you more than you could have ever expected, but it hurt you even more to think about how badly he might be beating himself up. You knew him well enough to understand that his strange tendencies came from a deep-seated fear of not being enough.

The sound of rustling grass tipped you off to someone approaching. Snapped back to reality, you realized that your sight was blurred by a slight film of tears. You hastily wiped it away as the footsteps got closer, finally stopping a few feet away from you. Slowly, you tilted your head up to meet a pair of brown eyes. Your breath caught in your throat. “Ben…” you said, quietly. “Hey, [Y/N]” he said, casting his eyes downward. Studying him, he looked like a mess. He wasn’t in his robes, but instead had his Gryffindor sweater on over an untucked and wrinkled button-down, without a tie. His normally neatly combed blonde hair was tousled and his pale face now had a sickly pallor, with defined purple bags beneath his eyes. You couldn’t help the wave of emotion that surfaced within you. Seeing him like this, realizing how much you missed him, upset that he hadn’t spoken to you in the past week. You scrambled quickly to your feet, startling Ben into taking a few steps back.

“Where have you been?!” you said, unable to keep your voice at a reasonable volume. Ben met your eyes again, looking visibly frightened. “I–I–” he stammered, but you didn’t let him finish. “I haven’t seen you in a week! Not in class, not in the great hall, not even a note or something! After what happened I feel like I deserve some communication, Ben!” You were vaguely aware that tears had begun streaming down your face. Ben continued to stare at you, horrified, saying nothing. “God, Ben! Have you been eating? Sleeping? Taking care of yourself!?” Your words were coming out as choked sobs. Ben looked shocked. You wanted to say so much more, but you couldn’t get any more words out and just stood still, crying. “[Y/N], I–” Ben tried to say, but you had already flung your arms around him, holding him close, unable to contain yourself. “I was so bloody worried about you,” you said, burying your face into shoulder. His arms wrapped tightly around you and you relished in the secure embrace. You were smiling, but tears continued to fall onto his gray sweater. Ben contained a sense of familiarity, and being in his arms immediately caused the cold feeling in your heart to dissipate. His body was warm and you felt a wave of relief crash upon you. You suddenly felt weary, like if Ben weren’t holding you up you would have collapsed onto the ground. Neither of you said anything for a good while, just stood holding each other. Both of you knew, without saying anything, that this is what you both had needed, the reassurance of one another, the feeling of security and clarity one could only feel in the company of a tried and true friend. “I’m so sorry, [Y/N],” he said, breaking the silence, “I never, ever, wanted to hurt you. I–I still don’t know what happened, but believe me that I would never do it on purpose.” You squeezed him tighter, conveying without words that you understood, that you trusted him and that you never wanted to lose him like that again.

You both hesitantly pulled away from each other, but still stayed an intimate amount of close. Ben’s hands instinctively intertwined with yours, and you felt anchored. Looking into his eyes, you saw a deep love and affection, a kind of bond that isn’t easily conveyed through words. He silently used his finger to wipe the tears from your face. You smiled and pointed to his shoulder. “Sorry for ruining your sweater.” He glanced at the wet spot where your face had been and laughed. Hearing the pure sound of his laughter caused your heart to fill with joy. Everything was right again. That was, until you heard a harsh voice ringing out from across the grounds.

“Get away from them!” Ben stepped back just in time for a spell that came flying to miss him. You whipped around and was not surprised to see Rowan storming across the grounds, wand out and fury in their eyes. You were temporarily touched to see how early they had returned from Hogsmeade with a Honeydukes bag in their free hand. But seeing Ben newly terrified snapped you into action. You stepped in front of him with arms outstretched. “No, Rowan!” Rowan sighed and kept marching forward. “Move out of my way, [Y/N]. It’s time I hexed him good and proper!” They looked ready to cast another spell, so you plunged your hand into your robes and produced your own wand. Before Rowan reacted, you cast the disarming charm and Rowan’s wand flew several feet away. “Rowan,” you said to your friend, who was frozen in shock, “he apologized. He’s innocent!” Rowan scoffed. “How do you know, [Y/N]? Because he told you?” You glanced behind you and saw Ben shaking, begging you to help with his eyes. You took a deep breath and turned back to face Rowan.

“When…when Jacob disappeared there were a lot of people that came around the house. People who were comforting my parents, people who were helping to look for him. And, among them, there were some that I knew didn’t really care. You could see it in their eyes. I was so young and scared, and I never spoke to them. But I could see that they thought it was better he was gone. I saw the way that they gave slight looks of contempt when he was mentioned. They thought he was crazy, like everyone else. And sometimes they would look at me the same way” Rowan’s furious gaze had softened and Ben had slowly crept out from behind you. Fresh tears had sprung in your eyes as you remembered a time period you didn’t really want to. Of your house, filled with black and feeling empty. Of people casting worried glances at you, standing alone. Of your parents instantly building a wall of ice around them that not even their own child could penetrate. You took another deep breath and continued. “But when I look at Ben, I see nothing but pure caring.” Ben looked at you, surprised, a blush crossing his face. You continued. “I see genuine fear when he gets scared, and genuine joy when he’s with us. And I saw genuine remorse just now. I trust him as much as I trust you, Rowan. He’s not lying. Someone is taking advantage of him.” Ben looked at the ground as Rowan looked at him, suspicion still evident. “This is way bigger than me, than any of us. We’re only gonna get through it if we trust each other.”

Rowan stood looking at Ben for a long time, scrutinizing. They were a person of facts and figures, someone who would have a hard time wrapping their head around a pardon made on the basis of a gut feeling. You knew that it would also take a lot of swallowed pride for Rowan to admit being wrong. They hated being wrong more than anything. But you were banking on Rowan’s empathy. It was true that they had never like Ben the way you did, but you’d be lying if you said that they weren’t kind and forgiving as well as ambitious and analytical. After what seemed like an eternity, Rowan walked forward and held out their hand. Ben instinctively flinched. “I’m sorry for my distrust,” Rowan said, very diplomatically, “From now on, no more suspicion. We work together as partners and friends.” Ben gave a small smile and shook Rowan’s hand enthusiastically. Rowan’s formal facade immediately broke and they smiled warmly. “I was a real arse, wasn’t I?” You laughed as their handshake broke. “You were just looking out for me,” you said, walking up to them, “I couldn’t ask more from my friend.” You pulled Rowan into a quick hug and saw the rest of the gang approaching from over Rowan’s shoulder. You pulled away from the hug and Rowan turned to see the group too. “I’ll go talk to them before they see Ben. Don’t want a repeat of my actions,” they said with a wink before jogging towards your friends. Absentmindedly, your hand found Ben’s and your fingers intertwined. You both smiled as you looked at each other and you gave his hand a small squeeze. “It’s good to have you back, Ben.”

**Author's Note:**

> I no longer support Ms. Rowling, but this game was fun to play and I'm proud of my work


End file.
